Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How Leishmania infantum causes skin and kidney damage in dogs
By Koutinas, A F & Koutinas, C K·Published in Veterinary pathology·2014·Private Practice·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Pathologic mechanisms underlying the clinical findings in canine leishmaniasis due to Leishmania infantum/chagasi.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A dog with leishmaniasis, caused by the Leishmania infantum parasite, can show a range of symptoms including skin issues like sores and thickened skin, kidney problems, and muscle weakness. The immune response to the parasite can lead to serious conditions such as kidney disease, which is often the main cause of death in affected dogs. Treatment typically involves medications to manage symptoms and support kidney function, but the disease can still be severe, even in dogs that appear healthy. Regular veterinary check-ups are crucial for early detection and management of this complex disease.
People also search for: dog leishmaniasis symptoms · dog kidney disease treatment · dog skin sores leishmaniasis
Abstract
In dogs with symptomatic or asymptomatic leishmaniasis, Leishmania infantum appears to induce a mixed Th1/Th2 immune response that in the sick dog may eventually result in tissue damage via different pathomechanisms, notably granulomatous inflammation (eg, nodular dermatitis, osteomyelitis), immune complex deposition (eg, glomerulonephritis), and/or autoantibody production (eg, polymyositis). This is a compensatory but detrimental mechanism generated mainly because of the insufficient killing capacity of macrophages against the parasite in the susceptible dog. Clinical disease is typically exemplified as exfoliative and/or ulcerative dermatitis, with or without nasodigital hyperkeratosis and onychogryphosis, glomerulonephritis, atrophic myositis of masticatory muscles, anterior uveitis, keratoconjunctivitis sicca, epistaxis, and/or polyarthritis, appearing alone or in various combinations. The pathogenesis of these clinical conditions has recently been highlighted, to a greater or lesser extent. The usually subclinical conditions expressed as chronic colitis, chronic hepatitis, vasculitis, myocarditis, osteomyelitis, orchiepididymitis, and meningoencephalomyelitis, though uncommon, are of pathologic importance from a differential point of view. The leading cause of death among canine leishmaniasis patients is chronic proteinuric nephritis that may progress to end-stage kidney disease, nephrotic syndrome, and/or systemic hypertension. However, even the asymptomatic proteinuria, when profuse, may be a serious problem because it predisposes to arterial thromboembolism and eventually contributes to the deterioration of the body condition.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24510947/